This video takes out anything related to the plot of the song and just gives us some guys in a wrestling ring in the middle of the neighborhood. It includes many references to Michael but is also very different from the source. This is a tribute with fans rocking in the street. I was tempted to say that this was the white boy version, but... yeah.
The song is still about a woman named Annie who gets shot. The song spends way too long asking a dead woman if she's OK, but it's still a damn good song. If only we could have frozen 80s Michael.
What does Alien Ant Farm give us that Michael didn't? Well, lots of head-banging. Their version is a bit harder, for lack of a better word. And again, no framing device so it's only 3 and half minutes.
We see a young boy dancing like Jackson while wearing a mask. So I guess he hangs himself out windows. The band itself are wearing shoes like Michael famously did so they can lean at impossible angles. Some Japanese school girls bounce up and down and hold a sign for Alien Ant Farm. A werewolf that looks nice in a bikini jumps into a pool. I guess that AAF thought that the one thing that Smooth Criminal was missing was craziness, especially considering the singer.
Next up are typical redneck guys sitting down. Hey, even rednecks enjoyed 80s pop, even if they'll openly complain about Michael if they catch someone listening. The rednecks even do the obligatory crotch grabbing, because they're Americans and Americans have a huge pair! Meanwhile it's now nighttime and the lead singer (did they change?) is now sitting with a monkey in his lap. Get it? Bubbles? We got a Michael Jackson checklist to take care of here!
We get a quick reference to Black or White during a break from the song. We get four guys who are posing (not sure what this is a reference to, but one of them looks like Raw Meat Cowboy.) There's also a scene where lead singer gets blown by smoke, which I recognize but I can't place. We end with a Mohawk guy staring at us with evil eyes similar to the end of Thriller.
This is a good video. It's very energetic and makes you want to join the crowd as they crowd the ring. The song relies more on metal guitars instead of a synthesize beat (I assume) the original used. While I think I would prefer the original video for the pool ball scene alone, I might choose this version for the audio part.
Spankin new, huh? No comment.
The awesome part is that I don't feel quite as bad listen to this song. OK, obvious joke. The awesome part is the walkway lighting up. It's like a cooler Big.
1 comment:
A few years back I read an interview with the members of Blur where they talked about what was wrong with various other bands' hit songs. They were very dismissive of all the songs, including this one where they pretty much said they didn't think AAF even knew what it was about.
So keep that in mind, any band that wants to do a cover version of somebody else's song. Blur requests that you do not attempt such at thing unless you have written and published your master's thesis on the meaning of that song.
I found it to be a very snobby and prickish interview in general and it made me like Blur (as people) less, which is too bad because they've made plenty of music that I really like.
In AAF news, I heard that the lead singer got in a car accident and broke his neck. He's still alive, but paralyzed, so that's why there's no Alien Ant Farm anymore. :o(
This was a number of years ago, so I don't know if anything has changed since then. I'll ask wiki.
...
Oh hey! They still exist. The lead singer wasn't irreversibly paralyzed after all. That's good to know. :o)
Your next video suffers from the greatest divide between song and video quality of any (non live performance footage) music video I'm aware of:
http://www.spike.com/video/flaming-lips-yoshimi/2788415
Post a Comment